


A Helping Hand

by assholemurphy



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: M/M, Monty has a panic attack, Murphy's actually a sweetheart, Not Beta Read, Panic Attacks, Pre-pilot, not too shippy tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-03-20 17:19:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3658698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assholemurphy/pseuds/assholemurphy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone's boarding the dropship but Monty can't find Jasper and thinking the worst, he panics, cue John Murphy to the rescue.</p>
<p>I was wondering what made Murphy think that Jasper (and Monty, too, kind of) was 'with them' in the pilot and I figured, maybe he'd met him before. So, this happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Helping Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Heya, this is just a oneshot 'what if' sort of thing. I'm basing Monty's panic attack off of the ones I've had, so, sorry if it's inaccurate or something. I just really liked the idea of Murphy meeting Monty before the dropship launched.

Monty paced back and forth, wringing his hands together nervously as he watched the passengers board the dropship. They were going to Earth, at least, that was what they'd been told, whether they were to be believed or not was yet to be seen. He took a deep breath, just because he hadn't seen Jasper yet didn't mean anything. He was probably just held up, grabbing something from his room or chatting up one of the guards. He'd be here soon and they'd go together, like always.

He'd managed to convince his escort to allow him to wait for his friend, perks of not causing too much trouble, he guessed. That, or maybe the guard had just figured it was better to let him wait than to deny him and deal with the fallout. Monty didn't cause trouble often, but he wasn't above making a scene if it kept him from being separated from Jasper. He could count on one hand the number of times they hadn't been together, and he refused to let this be one of those times. If they died, they died together, and if one the off chance they actually made it to the ground, well, he couldn't imagine touching down without Jasper by his side.

But Jasper had been gone for a long time now, and over half the kids had been strapped in already. He didn't know how long he'd be allowed to stay out here and wait for him.

If he came at all.

_Oh, god, what if they hurt him. What if Jasper fought back and refused to go? What if he wasn't coming? What if he stayed behind and Monty he to go to Earth alone and never saw him again? He wouldn't do that, no, he wouldn't leave Monty alone like that. He just wouldn't. Right?_

Monty shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. No, of course Jasper wouldn't do that. He wasn't stupid enough to fight against the guards. He was just late, that's all.

_But what if he wasn't? What if he wasn't coming at all? What if Monty was alone? He was going to Earth alone and he'd probably die there without Jasper and he didn't want to leave Jasper, he wouldn't, he couldn't, they had to stay together, they just **had to**._

“No, have to stay together.” He told himself, trying to stop the oncoming panic. They weren't going to be split up, Jasper was probably on his way right now. He tried to reassure himself, but it was to no avail. He was panicking because _Jasper was gone and what if he didn't make it in time and they just floated him instead?_

“No, no!” Monty shook his head violently. That wasn't going to happen. Everything was going to be fine. Except he didn't know that, what if it wasn't?

“Hey, kid, what's your deal?” He barely heard the question, thought swirling in his head.

“No, no, no.” He muttered, ignoring the voice.

“Hey, he was talking to you!” A rough hand gripped his shoulder hard and gave him a shake.

Monty's head snapped up, eyes wild with panic.  _ They aren't Jasper. Where's Jasper? He was not leaving without Jasper.  _ He felt scared, threatened by the two boys in front of him, they didn't seem to be friendly and the taller one's grip  _ hurt.  _ He looked towards his escort, searching for help, but he was preoccupied, laughing with another four guards. Monty assumed they were there for the two in front of him.

A second rough shake was accompanied by a question, “What the fuck is with you?”

Before he could force himself to reply, the first voice came again, softer this time. “Mbege, let him go.”

“Why? The kid's tripping on something, just look at him!” Mbege laughed. Monty felt he was being mocked, but he couldn't get past the foggy, panic haze that surrounded him to do anything.

“I said. 'let him go.'” The boy all but growled, shoving Mbege to the side. “He's panicking, dumbass.”

“And? Since when do we care?”

“We don't. Fuck off and find us some seats, alright? I don't want to be stuck next to any losers, got it?”

“Whatever, Murphy. Who put you in charge, anyway?” He huffed, turning to enter the dropship.

Monty had watched the exchange through glazed eyes, unable to really understand what was going on, but now he fixed his gaze on the boy left in front of him, trying to focus. What did he want? Did he know where Jasper was? He tried to ask, opening and closing his mouth a few times, but he couldn't form the right words, just broken sounds, like he was trying to talk underwater.

“Stop it.” The boy, Murphy, told him, placing a hand on Monty's arm. His touch was a lot gentler than Monty had expected, but he flinched slightly anyway. “I'm not going to hurt you. Just come with me, alright.”

Monty nodded, not sure what else to do. He needed to find Jasper, but maybe this boy could help him. Maybe that's where they were going.

Monty followed him until they reached one of the small rooms offset the loading dock. This was where they'd once stored supplies, but it had been emptied out long before now. He watched as Murphy opened the door.  _ Was Jasper here? Why would he be here? That didn't make any sense. _ He hesitated a moment but the boy tugged gently on his arm, prompting him to follow.

The room was cool and dimly lit, a pleasant change from where they'd just been, but Jasper wasn't there. Monty turned towards Murphy, demanding answers. He wanted to know where Jasper was, why he'd been brought here. This boy wasn't one of the guards was he? No, he wasn't, of course he wasn't. That was a stupid thought. He was a criminal like all of them, but Monty couldn't remember ever seeing him before. Maybe he'd been in solitary?  _ Oh, god, was he going to kill him? He was going to die, wasn't he? _ All the calm that had found Monty left instantly, his panic returning with a vengeance. He was going to die in here and no one was going to help him.

He opened his mouth to scream, but a firm hand clamped over it before he had the chance. A pathetic whimper passed through his lips instead. He didn't want to die here, he just wanted to find Jasper.

“Shh. It's okay, you're okay now.” The boy assured him. “I'm going to move my hand, don't scream, alright? I promise, I'm not going to hurt you.”

Monty didn't know whether or not to believe him, but he nodded. There was no way out, he was outmatched, if the guy was going to kill him, there was nothing he could do. He swallowed hard as the hand was removed. “Kill me?” He managed to squeak out. The phrase alone nearly brought him to tears. He didn't want to die, especially not here, not alone.

“No, I'm not going to kill you. Just, take deep breaths. It's going to be okay, just try to let yourself calm down.” Murphy lowered himself to the floor and tugged on Monty's arm, urging him to sit next to him.

Monty complied, breathing deeply and trying to follow the other boy's directions. “Jasper?”

“No?” He denied, lifting an eyebrow. “Is that what's wrong?”

Monty nodded. “I can't find him. We're supposed to go together, we always go together, everywhere. But I can't find him, he's one. He's gone and I'm alone. Where's Jasper?” He pleaded, reaching out and grabbing the other boy's hand. “I need to find him, please.”

“Okay, okay. Calm down. I'll help you look for him, but you have to try to calm down.” He told him, tracing circles on the back Monty's hand with his thumb in effort to help him calm down. “Come on, deep breaths for me, alright? In and out, okay? In... and out.”

Monty nodded, breathing on command. They kept it up for a few minutes, Monty breathing and the other boy coaching him. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Monty was able to ease the panic away. “Okay, okay.” He nodded, looking up at the other boy, “Jasper?”

“Yeah, we can go find Jasper now.” Murphy told him, getting to his feet and holding out a hand.

Monty accepted the help up, thanking Murphy.

“Let's go, then.” Murphy prodded, gripping Monty's hand in his own and pulling him along behind him. After a brief chat with one of the guards -Monty was confused as to why he'd even listen to Murphy, but whatever the boy had said had cause him to pale visibly and nod before picking up his radio- they were on their way down the corridors, Monty being pulled along on a seemingly random path, not slowing down until they were out of earshot of the majority of the guard. “Okay, so, it's just down this way. Victor, that was the guard I was talking to, he's not as upstanding as he'd like everyone to believe, if only they knew what I did, he wouldn't be a guard anymore, hell, he'd probably be floated,” Murphy laughed bitterly, “Anyway, he said there were a few kids who weren't completely up to date on their med records and so they brought them to one of the med bays. He's probably in there.”

“Oh.” That made sense, Monty guessed. He couldn't remember the last time Jasper had gone to medical, he just didn't get sick easily. “Thank you. For helping me find him, and for, you know, back there. How'd you know what to do, anyway?” Jasper was the only one who'd ever helped him through a panic attack, his panic attacks were what caused them to start making drugs in the first place, the business part had come later.

“No problem.” Murphy shrugged, “I used to get them a lot, panic attacks. My mom, she'd get drunk and start yelling and she'd throw things sometimes, too. I'd freak out. She'd say it was my fault, so I tried not to do anything to set her off, ya know? But it didn't work. Dr. Griffin called them panic attacks, brought on by an anxiety disorder, I don't know. I never took the meds. Sold them to some guys. Didn't want to rely on anything. Didn't want to end up like her.”

“Oh.” Monty nodded, not sure what to say. He'd never been in that situation and had no idea how to empathize with Murphy without potentially offending him. He opted for giving his hand a gentle squeeze instead. “Sucks, man.”

Murphy let out a loud laugh, startling Monty. “Yeah, yeah it did.”

They walked the rest of the way in an easy silence. Finally stopping outside the door, Murphy let go of Monty's hand, neither one saying anything about how unnecessary it had been to hold hands in the first place. He stepped up to the door and beat his fist against it, not stopping until it opened.

Murphy pushed past the startled guard and into the room, Monty trailing behind. “Is there a Jasper in here?” He asked, turning the heads of everyone in the room.

“John Murphy, this is not the-”

“Hey, Dr. Allen. You wanna make these easy and just shut up? Cause I'm not leaving til I find my buddy's friend, alright? Alright.” He gave a smirk and twirled away in a move that was utterly ridiculous, but Monty suspected he thought it was cool. He didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise. “So, again, is there a Jasper here? I've got a- hey, wait, what's your name?”

“Monty.”

“Right, a Monty here looking for you. He's awfully cute, so if you don't collect him, I might just keep him for myself.” Murphy joked, winking at Monty.

Monty shook his head, smiling at the antics. “Maybe he's not here, he could be somewhere else.”

“Nah, he's here.” Murphy pointed behind Monty at the same time he heard a surprised “Monty?”

“Jasper?” He spun around, launching himself at his best friend. He was so relieved. They wouldn't be separated when they went to Earth. They'd be okay. They'd be together.

“Yo, buddy, What's up?” Jasper asked, concern in his voice.

“I thought you weren't coming.” He answered quietly, staring at his feet. “I panicked, but Murphy helped me find you.”

“Oh.” Jasper nodded, hugging Monty again. “Well, I'm not staying behind. We're going to Earth, man, how cool is that?”

“So cool.” He replied, smiling into Jasper's shoulder. They we're going to be okay. Nothing was going to separate them, not up here and not on Earth. He pulled away a moment later and turned around, “Oh, right, Murphy this is- Where?”

“He left. Back to the loading dock, sent a guard with him. You two need to come with me when you're, uh, finished.” One of the guards told them. She sounded a bit amused.

“We're done. Let's go, Monty. We've got a planet to explore and there's probably no good seats left by now.”

“Yeah, alright.” Monty nodded, trailing after the two. He shook his head in exasperation when Jasper began flirting with the guard. Yeah, Jasper was here, the Earth was waiting, and everything was going to be just fine.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feedback is loved. Catch me on tumblr, if you want, [assholemurphy](http://assholemurphy.tumblr.com/)


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